Bravery award for man, 84, who fought off mugger
Ron Croker was on his own at the Coin-Op Launderette in Maltby, Rotherham, on 7 January when a masked Lloyd Smith burst in and demanded his wallet.
Mr Croker, 84, wrapped a pair of jeans around his arm to protect him from any potential weapons and shoved Smith, 42, back through the door.
This week, Mr Croker was presented with a commendation for his "tremendous courage" in fighting off Smith, who has since been jailed for the attack.
Mr Croker suffered bruises to his hands and arm but otherwise escaped without losing his wallet or any other items.
He previously told the BBC he had worked "all my life" for his money and decided Smith was "not having it".
Rotherham District Commander Ch Supt Andy Wright said Mr Croker's actions had been "nothing short of remarkable".
"We often talk about police officers running towards danger when others run away from it," he said.
"In this instance, Ron did neither. He stood his ground, fought for what is right and showed tremendous courage when it would have been easy not to."
According to South Yorkshire Police, Smith was identified by members of the public after CCTV footage of the attack was publicised.
Smith, of Myrtle Grove, Rotherham, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and was jailed for three years and nine months at Sheffield Crown Court in June.
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
Launderette robber fought off with jeans jailed
Launderette robber fought off with pair of jeans
Related internet links
South Yorkshire Police
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
5 Podcasts That Illustrate the Ungraspable Nature of Justice
True crime has remained a cornerstone of the industry ever since the first season of 'Serial' in 2014 ushered podcasts into the media mainstream, and the expansion of audio reporting has allowed for numerous cold cases and wrongful convictions to be re-examined. These five investigative podcasts all document failures within justice systems on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, caused by a combination of factors including racism, classism, law enforcement misconduct and bureaucratic incompetence. 'The Great Post Office Trial' The British postal service may not sound like an obvious setting for a real-life horror story, but that's exactly what unfolds in this gripping BBC investigative series. Beginning in the early 2000s, a number of post offices across Britain began recording major, unexplained shortfalls in cash that often snowballed into thousands of pounds. Sub-postmasters in charge of the affected offices, most of them relatively small, were held personally responsible for the losses, forced to take on devastating personal debts to pay them back, and were prosecuted for financial fraud. It took a long time for the truth to emerge — the shortfalls were nonexistent, invented by a faulty new I.T. system — and by then, hundreds of lives had been destroyed. Over the course of 21 episodes, Nick Wallis chronicles what the country's Criminal Case Review Commission called the 'biggest single series of wrongful convictions in British legal history.' The Kafkaesque stories, told largely by the victims who lived through the ordeal, describe being swept up in an inexplicable, seemingly bottomless, spiral of debt toward false accusations on the part of a system too clunky to recognize its own flaws. On the way, each time they sought help or explanations, they were met with gaslighting. Although a public inquiry has now led to overturned convictions and millions of pounds in compensation, the nightmarish toll of this 20-year scandal (13 lives were lost to suicide) feels too vast to fully repair. Starter episode: 'The Imaginary Heist' '13 Alibis' This absorbing series, which debuted in 2019, was the first podcast launched by 'Dateline,' the long-running television newsmagazine on NBC. Hosted and produced by Dan Slepian, an NBC News journalist, '13 Alibis' explores the 1996 killing of a teenager in the Bronx, and the conviction of a local man, Richard Rosario, despite Rosario's having 13 witnesses placing him in another state at the time of the murder. The series is an ideal binge listen — episodes are typically just 15 to 20 minutes long. But it doesn't feel lightweight, packed as it is with interviews of Rosario, legal experts and detectives that help explain how so much exculpatory evidence was dismissed. There are also insights into systemic failures — the prosecution case leaned heavily on a witness who identified Rosario in a police lineup, a method which has come under intense scrutiny in recent years thanks to the potential for false positives. Starter episode: 'Behind Bars' 'Bone Valley' The phrase 'it's always the husband' has become a mantra among true crime fans (to the point where it's the title of both a book and a podcast), referring to the fact that women are statistically most likely to be killed by a current or former partner. But this kind of confirmation bias can have devastating consequences if it's given too much sway in an actual criminal investigation, as this immersive and moving podcast demonstrates. In 1987, Leo Schofield was charged with murder in the stabbing death of his wife, Michelle, 18, whose body was found in a drainage canal in Central Florida. Despite a lack of physical evidence, he was convicted and spent 36 years in prison. Even after Jeremy Scott repeatedly confessed to the crime, and his fingerprints were matched to a set found in Michelle's abandoned car, Schofield remained behind bars and now, although he's out on parole, his conviction remains intact. The two seasons of 'Bone Valley,' however, are more about forgiveness and redemption than anger, exploring not just Schofield's tireless fight to prove his innocence, but his startlingly nuanced relationship with Scott. Starter episode: 'God Help Us' 'Wrongly Accused: The Annette Hewins Story' Many podcasts about wrongful convictions offer some comfort: The wrongly accused person actually gets a voice in the narrative (literally) and in the best-case scenario receives justice (if belatedly). That's not the case in this emotionally charged series from BBC Sounds, in which the accused in the title lost her life to a wrongful conviction. In 1995, Annette Hewins, then 31, was convicted of setting a fire that killed a mother and her two daughters in Wales. By the time her conviction was thrown out four years later, the damage had been done. 'Wrongly Accused' is movingly narrated by Hewins's now adult daughter Nicole, who recounts the extensive trauma inflicted on their family, Annette's descent into substance use and mental illness after her trial, and the ways in which class dynamics and systemic failures contributed to a tragically mishandled investigation. Starter episode: 'Her Story Must Be Heard' 'In The Dark: Season 2' The first season of this American Public Media podcast, which delved into the haunting story of the 1989 disappearance of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling, was a tough act to follow — not least because its release coincided with the case finally being solved. Madeleine Baran, an investigative journalist, and her team, wisely veered away from another cold case in the second season, instead delving into the equally disturbing story of Curtis Flowers, a Black man who was put on trial six times by a Mississippi prosecutor for the same quadruple homicide. Throughout 14 meticulously reported episodes, Baran unpacks how such a wildly flawed case was repeatedly retried, even after multiple mistrials and overturned convictions. Starter episode: 'July 16, 1996'
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
5 mystery novels introduce 5 delightful new sleuths
Amateur sleuths take center stage in these five mysteries, honing their detective skills at London's Inns of Court, a literary festival in an English village and a writers retreat at a French chateau. Veteran British barrister Smith uses her knowledge of London's centuries-old legal establishment, the Inns of Court, to create a delightfully old-fashioned mystery introducing a reluctant sleuth, barrister Sir Gabriel Ward. One morning in 1901, Ward arrives at his office and stumbles on the dead body of the lord chief justice of England. Brilliant and reclusive, Ward unhappily agrees when his boss orders him to investigate the murder, even as he fears that it will take too much time away from his latest legal case involving the authorship of a best-selling children's book. With the help of a local police officer, Ward hesitantly ventures out of his beloved, close-knit legal world in search of a killer and ends up finding some unexpected answers.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
UK condemns Hong Kong cash offer for help in arresting activists
The UK has condemned the latest cash offer from Hong Kong authorities for people who help in the arrest of pro-democracy activists living in Britain. In a joint statement, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the move as "another example of transnational repression". People are being offered between $25,000 (HK$200,000) and $125,000 for information leading to the arrest of 19 individuals, all of whom are pro-democracy activists living abroad. China has denounced as "interference" criticism over this type of appeal, which it has made three times previously. The 19 people are accused of violating Beijing's national security law imposed in 2020 in response to the 2019 anti-government protests that rocked the city for months. The amounts on offer vary depending on the individual. Among the highest offers on the list are those for Choi Ming-da and Fok Ka-chi, who Hong Kong police said operated a social media channel named "Tuesdayroad". Politician Nathan Law – who had been a lawmaker on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong – and activist and commentator Yuan Gong-Yi also appear on the lists. The first such rewards were issued in July and December 2023. They targeted Mr Law - who told the BBC that his life became more dangerous after a bounty was announced - and Simon Cheng, a former UK consulate employee detained in 2019 in a high-profile case. The third series of rewards targeted six pro-democracy activists living in the UK and Canada, including Tony Chung, the former leader of a pro-independence group. A special visa scheme introduced in 2021 saw around 150,000 Hong Kong residents move to the UK, according to the Home Office. In November last year a Hong Kong court sentenced dozens of pro-democracy leaders to years in jail for subversion, following a controversial national security trial. In their statement in response to the latest bounty, Ms Cooper and Mr Lammy said: "This government will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, including those who have made the UK their home. "We take the protection of their rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously." Their joint statement added: "The UK is committed to human rights, the rule of law, and the safety of all individuals in the UK. "That's why we have taken further steps to complete the severing of ties between the UK and Hong Kong extradition systems by removing Hong Kong from the Extradition Act 2003." Who are the activists jailed in Hong Kong's largest national security trial? HK bans 'seditious' mobile game about fighting communists Silenced and erased, Hong Kong's decade of protest is now a defiant memory
